ENGLAND STAR TOLD HE’S GONE ‘MISSING’ URGED TO STOP ‘DISRESPECTING OPPONENTS’ WITH ‘NEEDLESS ANTICS’
England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham has been accused of going ‘missing’ as a pundit has told him to stop “disrespecting his opponents”.
Bellingham enjoyed a remarkable debut season at Real Madrid. He’s previously been operated as a No.8 but was used further forward by head coach Carlo Ancelotti as he grabbed 23 goals and 13 assists in his 42 appearances.
However, the 21-year-old faded during the run-in and his performances for England at Euro 2024 have added to the argument that he’s tired and requires a rest.
The midfielder was sensational in England‘s tournament opener as he scored the only goal for Gareth Southgate’s side in their 1-0 win over Serbia.
But Bellingham has struggled in recent matches but saved England from being eliminated in the round of 16 by netting a sensational overhead kick in stoppage time to take their tie against Slovakia into extra time. Harry Kane went on to net the winner for England as Southgate’s side just did enough to progress.
This moment of magic has not prevented Bellingham from being criticised, though. Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann thinks the Real Madrid standout has been ‘missing for months’.
“When you look at other players, Bellingham, for example. He is a huge talent, but the fact of the matter is that since the Champions League quarter-final, he hasn’t performed. He hasn’t been seen in the Champions League when it really matters,” Hamann said.
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“Maybe it shouldn’t come as such a surprise that Bellingham isn’t performing that well at this tournament. Bellingham wasn’t the reason that Real Madrid won the Champions League. He played his part in the early rounds, but they won it because of Lunin, because of Vini Junior, and because of Toni Kroos.
“Sometimes the English tend to hype their players up, which is fair enough, but it doesn’t always match the reality.”
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Hamann added: Bellingham is starting to believe his own fairy tales, he needs to be careful: I think there is definitely a danger that Jude Bellingham is starting to believe his own fairy tales.
“There was his celebration and then when he walked past the Slovakia bench, he did something that offended them. He said afterwards that it was a private joke aimed at his friends who were sitting near them. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I think he’s got to be careful because in the first game, he ran into Kostić after he won the tackle, and he was lucky not to get booked for that.
“He’s got to leave them things out because there’s always someone bigger than you and the other players will watch his antics. I think he’s got to be very careful because the one thing you shouldn’t do is disrespect your opponents. Against Slovakia, he made his excuses, but it wouldn’t have been the first time that something has happened with him. Somebody has to tell him it’s needless and he should cut it out.”
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Hamann has also hit out at England for being the “worst team in the tournament so far”.
“I think everybody in Germany is disappointed watching England because they’ve got the highest market value squad at the tournament. The value of the players is something ridiculous like one and a half billion,” Hamann continued.
“You’ve got all these super, super players and then you play like you do. With all that talent, England have been the worst team in the tournament so far. The good news is that you’re still there – you haven’t been sent home yet like 10 or 12 other teams.”
2024-07-03T08:23:24Z dg43tfdfdgfd